The Kitniyot Liberation Front

Section 453: Laws Concerning the Wheat and Concerning the Grinding of Wheat for Matzos Even if a person kneads rice flour and the like with steaming hot water and covers it with cloths until it expands like leavened dough, this does not mean that the rice dough has become leavened, but that it has decayed, and it is therefore permitted to be eaten on Pesach .

“There are those who forbid eating rice and all sort of kitniyot ; this is a superfluous stringency. Also Rabbenu Yeruham wrote that those that practice not to eat rice and all sorts of cooked kitniyot on Pesah—it is a silly custom (“minhag shuth”) and if they do it to be stringent [regarding the issur of eating chametz], I don’t know why.

Just imagine, there were amoraim who didn't think that we should merely be able to eat rice--rather they thought that it should actually be on the seder plate: "What are the two dishes? --Said R. Huna: Beet and rice. Raba used to be particular for beet and rice, since it had [thus] issued from the mouth of R. Huna. R. Ashi said: From R. Huna you may infer that none pay heed to the following [ruling] of R. Johanan b. Nuri. For it was taught, R. Johanan b. Nuri said: Rice is a species of corn and karet is incurred for [eating it in] its leavened state, and a man discharges his duty with it on Passover. And just in case, you get confused, I repeat what R. Ashi said: none should pay attention to R. Johanan b. Nuri who said that rice is a species of corn and you get karet for eating it leavened.

"Those accustomed to not eating rice and various kinds of cooked qitniyot on Passover abide by a stupid custom which makes it harder on themselves [to observe and enjoy the festival] and I have no idea why they do so".